Photo by Amanda Lopez for The Verge
Meta’s next pair of smart glasses made in partnership with Ray-Ban owner Luxottica might be released sometime soon. As spotted by Lowpass’ Janko Roettgers, a listing for a pair of smart glasses by Luxottica Group has surfaced in the FCC’s database. Given that the original Ray-Ban Stories are listed under Luxottica and recent reports on a second-generation pair of the smart glasses, I’m inclined to believe that these filings are for the new specs.
The original Ray-Ban Stories let you capture photos and videos using the cameras next to the lenses and look through what you capture on a companion app. They also have microphones and speakers to capture and play audio. They haven’t been a hit; The Wall Street Journal reported in August that less than 10 percent of the people that bought the smart glasses use them on a monthly basis.
Despite the low usage, it seems Meta is soldiering forward with generation two. The new smart glasses will let you live stream video to Facebook and Instagram and even hear comments from the people watching your stream, Roettgers said in August: “Live streamers will be able to directly communicate with their audience, with the glasses relaying comments via audio over the built-in headphones.” The Wall Street Journal reported that the new smart glasses will have “improved battery life and better cameras” and are scheduled to be released in the fall or spring 2024.
Meta didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. The company is hosting its Connect conference on September 27th and 28th, so perhaps we’ll hear more about these new smart glasses at the show. At that event, we already know that Meta plans to share more about the Meta Quest 3, which is scheduled to come out this fall. That device recently crossed the FCC, too, so I’m guessing Meta is going to meet that deadline.
